Torpedo rack



Aug. 30, 1955 G. F. DUVALL 2,716,388

TORPEDO RACK Filed May 16, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR A I ATTORNEY G. F. DUVALL TORPEDO RACK Aug. 30, 1955 4 sheets-shed 2 Filed May 16, 1947 v INVENTOR GOPDO V F. DUVALL ATTORNEY Aug. 30, 1955 G. F. DUVALL 2,716,388

TORPEDO RACK Filed May 16, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR GORDON F. DUI/ALL jwwflm ATTORNEY 30, 1955 G. F. DUVALL 2,716,388

TORPEDO RACK Filed May 16, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY ronrnno RACK Gordon F. Duvall, Aub'urndale, Mass., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Application May 16, 1947, Serial 'No. 748,483

4 Claims. (Cl. 114-239) This invention relates to improvements in torpedo launching devices and involves particularly a remotely controlled actuating mechanism for the torpedo racks of PT boats.

Navy PT boats are equipped with four torpedoes ready for launching, each torpedo being carried in its respective rack, two racks being mounted fore and aft on the port and starboard sides respectively of the main deck adjacent the gunnels. These racks as the term is used herein comprises a base plate, having two G-shaped uprights se cured thereto in longitudinally spaced relation. Each up-right has a wedge or cock, pivoted in the lower portion of the C to form a cradle for the torpedo when the cock is in its up-lifted position. The torpedo is nested in this cradle and secured therein by suitable lanyards. It has been the practice prior to this invention manually to launch the torpedoes side-ways from the rack. This is achieved by means of a lever which releases the lanyards and the cocks, permitting the latter to fall down into a slot in the up-righ't thereby allowing the torpedo to slide sideways 'out of its rack and clear of the boat. In this prior method of launching torpedoes it is desirable 'first to start the torpedo, viz., by pulling a suitable lanyard that is tied to the starting toggle; and thereafter to pull the release lever. This permits the gyroscope to start, come up to speed and uncage before the torpedo is launched, so that even though the torpedo may be askew as it leaves the rack the gyro axis notwithstanding will have its original orientation. This requirement for .performing two operations produces a serious time lag :be-

tween the captains will to fire and the launching action, and introduces serious fire control problems. On the other hand, if the torpedo is started simultaneously with the launching, the gyro axis will depend upon the position of the torpedo at the time the gyro is uncaged producing random errors in the torpedos course; 'e. .g., if the torpedo is launched askew, i. e,, obliquely relative its predetermined direction of travel, the gyro axis will also be askewed; and the torpedo will miss its target.

Because of these disadvantages attendant the previously employed methods of launching torpedoes from their racks -I set out to develop a simple, rugged and reliable remotely operable device for starting the torpedo almost instantaneously in r'esponse to the initial reaction to fire and thereafter automatically launching the torpedo from its rack.

After considering all possible ways of supplying the required force and energy for operating the racks, e. vg., powder, air, electricity etc.-, I hit upon the idea of (1) utilizing a system of springs for storing human energy wherein the action of the springs may be slowed to permit the gyro to come up to speed, by means of a hydraulic throttling plunger; and (2) controlling the release -of the springs remotely by means of a hydraulic system. In developing an operative system according to this conception I discovered that the standard aircraft starting toggle was unsuited for launching torpedoes sideways from a rack on a PT boat and considered numerous 2,716,383 Patented Aug. 30, 1955 devices that were proposed for lifting the torpedo starting lever. While a number of the devices proposed produced reasonably satisfactory results they each possessed certain inherent limitations. In testing and experimenting with these devices it occurred to me that inasmuch as wedges have been utilized since earliest times for changing directions of linear motions such a wedge might be used to advantage to lift the starting lever in response .to its linear movement in a slotted guide. Accordingly, such a starting lever was developed and comprises a part of this invention.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that it is a principal object of this invention to provide a device for launching torpedos sideways from 'a standard rack utilized on PT boats that can be operated at a remote station so that the will to fire immediately is translated into action.

It is a further object of this invention automatically to start the torpedo simultaneously with the initiation of the launching operation and to provide a slight delay in the actual launching of the torpedo to give the torpedo gyroscope sufiicient time to come up to speed and uncage.

'Still another object of this invention is to provide remotely controlled launching means for a plurality of torpedoes that permits preselection 'of a particular torpedo or torpedoes to be fired in advance of attack thus preventing the firing of the Wrong torpedoes.

Another object is to provide an improved method for lifting the starting lever of torpedoes that are adapted to be launched sideways from a PT boat torpedo rack.

Still further objects, advantages, and improvements will be apparent from the following description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the present invention after a torpedo has been launched;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the torpedo in position for launching;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the torpedo launcher showing part of the release mechanism in detail;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a partial top plan View of the torpedo rack.

Pig. 6 is a sectional view taken through 66 in Fig. 3 showing the position of the slide rods when they are actuated to their releasing position by the torque rod;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a wedge type torpedo starting mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a view partly in section of the main assembly of the launching mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the yoke assembly;

Fig. 10 is a section view taken through 10-10 in Fig. 4

i with parts broken away;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of an assembled wire guide; and

Fig. 12 is a view of the wire guide in its unassembled condition.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout the several views, and more particularly to Figs. 1-5 inclusive, there is shown therein a torpedo rack desighated by a numeral I mounted on a base 2. The torpedo rack 1 consists of a pair of longitudinally spaced arcuate (C-shaped) uprights or supports 3 secured together by a cross bar 8 to provide a cradle for supporting a torpedo A. Each upright 3 has a pivoted wedge member or cock 4 shiftable in a slot 4a in its respective upright, so as to hold the torpedo in the rack when in the up-lifted position and permit it to slide sideways of the rack when in the depressed position in the slot.

The torpedo A is maintained securely on the supports 3, 3 of the rack 1 by means of the lanyards 5 which extend through a pulley 6 mounted on a removably secured plate member 7, the lanyards 5 extending over the body of the torpedo A and have their ends secured to eye bolts 6a, 6a bolted to the supports 3, 3. Each of the supports 3, 3 have an adjustable member 9 at their upper portions which permits the supports 3 to be adapted to securely maintain torpedoes of different diameters. The adjustable members 9 are pivotally mounted by a pin 10 on the support 3 and have an arm 11 pivoted at one end by the pin 12 with its other end abutting against a face plate 13 on the support 3. By turning a wing nut 15 threaded on the pivotally mounted bolt 14, the position of the adjustable member 9 may be changed in order to rest firmly along the side wall of the torpedo and be locked in position thereon.

There is mounted on the torpedo launcher (Fig. 1) both a local release and a remote control mechanism, each operating independently of the other to launch a torpedo. The local release mechanism consists of a manual launching lever 16 pivoted by a pin 17 and having a portion extending therebeyond to which is secured the launching mechanism. A U-shaped guide bar 18 secured at its free ends to the support 3 acts as a guide for the lever 16. A spring clip 19 secured to the support 3 adjacent the middle portion of the lever 16 maintains the launching lever in its neutral or ready position as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The rod 20 operatively connects the lower end of the manual launching lever 16 to the torque rod crank 21 by means of a crank pin 22 (see Figs. 8 and 9). The torque rod crank 21 is secured to a torque rod 23 which has a pair of opposed crank levers 24 secured to its free end, the extreme end of the torque rod 23 being rotatably supported by a support plate member 25 mounted on the base 2 (see Fig. 6).

Each of the cranks 24 is connected by means of a pin 24a to a slide rod 26 which extends longitudinally to the proximity of the supports 3, 3. The slide rods 26 are each connected (Fig. 10) to a respective slide bolt 27 by a pin 28, the bolts 27, being reciprocally mounted within their respective bores 29, 30 positioned in the support 3 on either side of the slot 4a. As shown by Fig. 10, the slide bolt 27 is in its neutral or ready position wherein the pivoted cock 4 is held in the up position by resting on the slide bolt 27 and the plate member 7 is secured from movement by the bolt 27 which is positioned within the bore 7a.

To start the torpedo concurrently with its launching by manual means a wire 52 (Fig. 2) is connected at one end to the upper portion of the launching lever 16. The other end of the wire 52 is threaded thru a guide 54 and is secured to the wedge 60 of the torpedo starter indicated generally at 53. As illustrated in Fig. 7 the wedge starter comprises a case shoe 61 having a straight sided portion adapted to lie adjacent the starting lever, and secured to the torpedo body. A slotted guide way 62 is provided in the case shoe for accommodating the wedge 60. A bolt 63 rides on the wedge surface and is secured to the starting lever 64. In the position shown the bolt 63 is seated within a slot that is formed at the base of the wedge. As the wedge is pulled forward in its guide by means of the wire 52 the bolt 63 rides upwardly on the wedge surface lifting the starting lever 64.

The wedge is shaped to insure transmitting linear motion to the starting lever and is boat-tailed so that after being tripped the lever 64 returns to its original position.

Now referring in particular to Figs. 1 and 3, an arming lever 55 is clamped securely to the torque rod 23. To prevent the torque rod 23 and the arming lever 55 from being accidentally or inadvertently rotated, a coil spring 56 connects the arming lever 55 and the support 3. An arming wire 57 is connected at one end to the free end of the arming lever 55 and to an arming impeller (not shown) on the torpedo so that upon actuation of the release mechanism, the rotating lever 55 causes the release of the arming impeller.

In launching the torpedo by the local control, the lever 16 is actuated so as to pivot about the pin 17 and force the operating rod 20 to shift in a direction toward the center of the rack 1 causing the torque rod 23 to rotate against the tension of the coil spring 56 and each of the slide rods 26 and the slide bolts 27 to shift inwardly to clear the slots 4a. This permits the pivoted wedge supports 4, 4 to swing downwardly and the plate members 7, 7 to become disengaged so that the torpedo A is now free to roll off the rack after the torpedo starter 53 has been actuated and the release of the arming impeller accomplished.

It is to be noted that the launching of the torpedo by local manual operation does not interfere with hydraulic and spring mechanism for elfecting remote controlled operation. This is achieved by providing an opening 44 in the yoke 43 of the spring actuated piston rod 42 (see Fig. 8). This opening permits the crank pin 22 to move relative to the rod 42, but serves to transmit motion of the rod 42 directly to the crank pin 22 and hence to the torque rod crank 23.

The torpedo A can likewise be launched by the remote control hydraulic system which consists of an operating lever 31 mounted on a hydraulic transmitter 32 situated in a cockpit or any other place removed from the site of the torpedo rack. A pressure line 33 connects the hydraulic transmitter 32 and the hydraulic receiver 34 (see Figs. 1 and 8) of the main hydraulic assembly 35. The hydraulic assembly 35 consists of an oil filled cylinder 36 which contains a piston 37 having two springs 38, 38a positioned in compression about the piston rod 42 and between the piston 37 and the end wall of the cylinder 36. The piston 37 is slidably mounted on a throttling plunger 39 which has a hollow portion 40 in which a spring 41 is positioned normally in compression so as to reduce the initial combined forces exerted by the springs 38 and 38a immediately upon actuation of the piston 37. At the free end of the piston rod 42 there is secured thereto a yoke 43 which engages the crank pin 22 in the opening 44. The pin 22 is in turn secured to the torque rod crank 21, which drives the torque rod 23.

The piston 37 is maintained in its cocked position by means of a rotary sear 45 mounted on a lever 46 which is pivotally mounted by a pin 47. The other arm of the lever 46 is connected to a double bar link 48 which is itself connected to a piston rod 49. The piston rod 49 is secured to a piston 50 which is slidably mounted in the cylinder formed within the hydraulic receiver 34. A spring 51 mounted in compression about the piston rod 49 acts to maintain the piston 50 in its closed position.

As illustrated in Fig. 8 the sear 45 and bell crank 46 are shaped so that the rotary sear 45 engages the sloping face of the piston head 37 at such an angle that spring pressure, shock and vibration tend to lock rather than fire the mechanism. This is achieved by having the force of the springs 38 and 38a act in a direction normal to the sloping surface of the piston head 37 pass below the center of the pin 47 and center of rotation of the lever 46. This vector force may be resolved into two components, one which passes through the center of rotation of the lever 46, and the other in the direction of piston travel. It is apparent that this latter component will act to rotate the lever 46 to the closed or locked position. It is clear from the foregoing that this is not the only force acting to keep the sear 45 locked. The receiver spring 51 acting through the bar link 48 exerts its full force on the upper arm of the lever 46, tending to rotate the sear to the locked position. Thus if the PT boat upon which the rack is mounted should receive a severe shock, such as ramming in the stern, which would tend to lessen the main spring force momentarily, there would still be another force tending to keep the sear locked.

On actuation of the operating lever 31 of the hydraulic transmitter 32, the fluid in the hydraulic system is placed under pressure, which pressure is transmitted to the hydraulic transmitter 34 through the pressure line 33. The piston 50 is forced to move to the right against spring pressure 51 causing the lever 46 to rotate clockwise and the sear 45 to lift from its cocked position adjacent the face of the piston 37. The piston 37 and the piston rod 42 then moves to the right under the combined forces exerted by the springs 38 and 38a, carrying along the yoke 43 and the crank pin 22 whose movement compels the torque rod crank 21 to rotate. The torque rod 23 is now caused to rotate and the torpedo A launched. Also, since the operating rod 20 is pivotally secured to the crank 21, movement to the right of the crank 21 causes the lever 16 to be swung outwardly and the wire 52 yanked to start the torpedo mechanism as heretofore described.

When fluid is forced by the transmitter 32 into the receiver 34 pushing the receiver piston 50 and the linkage 48, to rotate the sear lever 46, the piston 37 would move forward under pressure of both springs 38 and 38a quite rapidly if the action were not slowed by the throttling action of this piston. To reset the sear 45 to its cocked position, the lever 16 is pushed inwardly towards the rack to its limit of travel so that piston 37 will override the sear and thereby become fuly engaged with said sear when the lever is returned to its neutral position.

In practice the spring force acting upon the piston in its locked position is approximately 1200 pounds; and this force drops to about 725 pounds as the end of the piston travel is reached. The hydraulic throttling is such that it takes the piston about one second to travel its full distance. Although smooth, damped action is always contributory to long mechanical life and future reliability, the primary purpose of the throttling piston 37 is functional. It slows launching action so that the torpedo-gyro will be started by the release of lever 64, up to speed and uncaged when the torpedo is released. Approximately of a second is allowed for this, which requires the determination in design of the necessary travel of the piston 37 required to move the lever 16 and the wedge 60 an amount sufficient to trip the starting lever 64. This movement plus the time required for the gyro to come up to speed and uncage must be effected in A of a second. Thus even though the torpedo should be askew as it leaves the rack, the gyro axis will be pointed as originally intended.

I claim:

1. A remotely controlled apparatus for actuating the release mechanism of a boat torpedo rack comprising a first cylinder, a spring within said cylinder, a piston engaging said spring movable within said cylinder, manual means for displacing said piston within said cylinder against the action of said spring, a pivoted lever for holding said piston in its displaced position, said lever being constructed and arranged so that one end thereof engages the face of said piston at an angle whereby said spring pressure, shock and vibration tend to rotate it to its holding position, a second cylinder, a spring within said second cylinder, a piston movable within said second cylinder against the action of said spring, a link connecting said last-named piston to the free end of said pivoted lever whereby said piston will move to rotate said lever in a direction to release said first-named piston, means coupling said first-named piston to said rack releasing mechanism and remotely positioned means for transmitting fluid under pressure to said second cylinder for moving said second piston for rotating said lever whereby said releasing mechanism may be actuated by said first-named spring.

2. The combination in claim 1 above characterized further by the addition thereto of an operative link between said first-named piston and the starting means of said torpedo, including a fluid in said first cylinder displaceable by said piston for slowing the action of said firstnamed spring whereby the release of said torpedo will be delayed subsequent to the actuation of its starting means.

3. A remotely controlled apparatus for actuating the release mechanism of a boat torpedo rack comprising a cylinder, a piston movable in said cylinder for operating said release mechanism, a spring for driving said piston, connecting means for transmitting the movement of said piston to a torpedo starting means, and a fluid in said cylinder displaceable by the movement of said piston for slowing the action of said spring whereby to delay the release of said torpedo from said rack subsequent to the actuation of said starting means.

4. An apparatus for lifting the starting lever of a torpedo on being launched from a boat torpedo rack, comprising means having a slotted guide carried on said torpedo adjacent said starting lever, a wedge movable longitudinally in said guide, means secured to said lever and extending transversely thereof into riding engagement with said lever whereby said lever will be lifted vertically relative to said guide in response to the longitudinal movement of said wedge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,310,896 Schneider July 22, 1919 2,387,124 Dennison Oct. 16, 1945 2,389,963 Dougherty Nov. 27, 1945 

